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Google first 100 billion dollar brand



Contents

The Article

2

Warm-ups

3

Before Reading / Listening

4

While Reading / Listening

5

Listening Gap Fill

6

After Reading / Listening

7

Student Survey

8

Discussion

9

Language Work

10

Writing

11

Homework

12

Answers

13

1st May, 2009

THE ARTICLE

Google just keeps getting bigger and bigger. The search engine giant is

not only the world¡¯s biggest brand, it is also the first brand worth $100

billion. A report from the market research firm Millward Brown shows

Google has kept its position as the world¡¯s most powerful brand. It valued

the company at $101.4 billion. This is 25 per cent higher than its biggest

rival Microsoft, which is the second most valuable brand. The ¡°Top 100

Most Powerful Brands¡± report lists Coca Cola at number three, followed

by IBM and McDonalds. Technology companies make up eight of the top

ten. Google¡¯s brand is helped because it is now also a verb in everyday

use. It is very common to hear people say ¡°Google it¡± when they want

some information.

The report is the world¡¯s largest study of what consumers and businesses

think of brands. It says a brand name is key for any business to grow. ¡°A

strong brand can help protect a business from risk, and position it for

future growth,¡± it says. The authors believe a strong brand name is ¡°the

ultimate return on investment¡±. Joanna Seddon, chief executive of

Millward Brown, told reporters: "In the current [economic] environment,

brand has become even more important because it can help to sustain

companies in tough times." Her report says brand value has grown, even

through the recession: ¡°The value of brands remains strong¡­the total

value of the top 100 most valuable brands has increased to just under $2

trillion.¡±

Google first 100 billion dollar brand ¨C 1st May, 2009

More free lessons at - Copyright 2009

2

WARM-UPS

1. BRANDS:

Walk around the class and talk to other students about brands. Change

partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT:

In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are

most interesting and which are most boring.

Google / search engines / brands / market research / rivals / technology companies /

consumers / businesses / risk / investment / tough times / recession / $2 trillion

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. BRANDS:

What do you think of these brands? Give them a score from 1 (terrible)

to 10 (excellent). Complete this table. Share your answers with your partner(s). Change

partners and share again.

Brand

Logo

Product

Advertising

Google

McDonalds

Nokia

BBC

Ferrari

Chanel

4. GOOGLE:

Students A strongly believe Google is the most useful website on the

Internet; Students B strongly believe there are other, more useful websites than Google.

Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. RIVALS:

Which of these rivals are best. Share your ideas with your partner(s).

?

Google / Microsoft

?

Ford / Toyota

?

BBC / CNN

?

Nintendo / Sony

?

Coca Cola / Pepsi Cola

?

Gucci / Chanel

?

Master Card / Visa

?

British English / American English

6. SEARCH ENGINE:

Spend one minute writing down all of the different words

you associate with the term ¡®search engine¡¯. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk

about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

Google first 100 billion dollar brand ¨C 1st May, 2009

More free lessons at - Copyright 2009

3

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article¡¯s headline and guess whether these sentences

are true (T) or false (F):

a.

Google is the world¡¯s most valuable brand.

T/F

b.

Google is named the world¡¯s most powerful brand for the first time.

T/F

c.

McDonalds is the fifth most powerful brand in the world.

T/F

d.

¡°To Google¡± is now part of the English vocabulary.

T/F

e.

A report says a company¡¯s brand name is actually not that important.

T/F

f.

The report says a brand name can help a company grow in the future.

T/F

g.

The report says tough times help a brand to become more important.

T/F

h.

The value of brands worldwide has decreased to just under $2 trillion.

T/F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

1.

giant

a.

maintained

2

firm

b.

present

3.

kept

c.

usual

4.

helped

d.

research

5.

common

e.

company

6.

study

f.

profit

7.

protect

g.

colossus

8.

return

h.

stays

9.

current

i.

aided

10.

remains

j.

safeguard

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more

than one. combination is possible):

1.

Google just keeps

a.

at $101.4 billion

2

The search

b.

everyday use

3.

It valued the company

c.

in tough times

4.

Technology companies make

d.

for any business to grow

5.

it is now also a verb in

e.

getting bigger and bigger

6.

what consumers and businesses

f.

under $2 trillion

7.

a brand name is key

g.

think of brands

8.

help protect

h.

engine giant

9.

it can help to sustain companies

i.

a business from risk

10.

increased to just

j.

up eight of the top ten

Google first 100 billion dollar brand ¨C 1st May, 2009

More free lessons at - Copyright 2009

4

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL:

Put the words into the gaps in the text.

Google just keeps __________ bigger and bigger. The search

engine giant is not only the world¡¯s biggest brand, it is also the

followed

first brand __________ $100 billion. A report from the market

research

firm

Millward

Brown

shows

Google

has

kept

verb

its

worth

__________ as the world¡¯s most powerful brand. It __________

the company at $101.4 billion. This is 25 per cent higher than its

valued

biggest rival Microsoft, which is the second most valuable brand.

common

The ¡°Top 100 Most Powerful Brands¡± report lists Coca Cola at

number three, __________ by IBM and McDonalds. Technology

companies __________ up eight of the top ten. Google¡¯s brand is

getting

position

make

helped because it is now also a __________ in everyday use. It is

very __________ to hear people say ¡°Google it¡± when they want

some information.

The report is the world¡¯s largest __________ of what consumers

and businesses think of brands. It says a brand name is

__________ for any business to grow. ¡°A strong brand can help

protect

a

business

from

risk,

and

position

it

for

growth

remains

future

__________,¡± it says. The authors believe a strong brand name is

key

¡°the ultimate __________ on investment¡±. Joanna Seddon, chief

current

executive of Millward Brown, told reporters: "In the __________

value

[economic] environment, brand has become even more important

because it can help to sustain companies in __________ times."

Her report says brand value has grown, even through the

recession: ¡°The value of brands __________ strong¡­the total

study

return

tough

__________ of the top 100 most valuable brands has increased to

just under $2 trillion.¡±

Google first 100 billion dollar brand ¨C 1st May, 2009

More free lessons at - Copyright 2009

5

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